A New Beginning
by Pieland24
Summary: A look through Holtzmann's life and how it changes for the better.
1. Chapter 1

She was never known for expressing her feelings. Or just expressing them well. Everything she did was masked by a fake confidence. When she was 8, she would spend the majority of her time with her father. He would be the one to introduce her to the world of engineering, how things worked and why. He encouraged her to push her limits, making her crazy ideas a possibility, and she was damn good at it.

The kids in her class just didn't understand. She tried to make conversation, pulling up sketches of her newest inventions and excitedly went into explicit detail on how it worked, what part did what and why. By the end of her spiel, she was met with confused or bored looks, or to find that whoever she was talking to had slipped off. The first few times this happened, she was hurt. Why weren't they interested in something this cool? Her dad told her not to worry, they just didn't understand. For the next few years, nobody would understand.

High school was no different. While her extravagant wardrobe and hairstyle had gotten looks of curiosity and disgust, she was no longer affected by what others thought of her. Her classes were almost too easy, leaving her to focus on more important things. Her newest invention, a spore that could freeze anyone to come into contact with it, had been coming along. She had worked on it for weeks, seldom leaving her room. Her mother always left her meals at the door, while her father would check on her progress. He pointed out what she could change and why, and sometimes even ask her questions. Jillian would explain with a smile on her face.

She graduated high school early and went to MIT. That's where she met Dr Gorin, a tall women with almost as equally crazy hair as Jillian herself. Dr. Gorin quickly became Jillian's mentor, taking her under her wing and encouraging her crazy though innovative ideas. Her eyes would light up as Jillian went over her blueprints, never once interrupting her until she was finished. Jillian had felt so important, so understood. Not once was she laughed at or called crazy, not by Dr. Gorin.

* * *

Abby Yates was a pleasant surprise. They had met at a science convention in New York. Abby had a booth about the paranormal, which had intrigued Holtzmann. She had always enjoyed ghost stories, though she knew they had no merit. But the idea of something beyond this life was intrigued her.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"I want to."

The next five years was the best of Holtz's life. She and Abby conducted paranormal research at Kenneth P. Higgins Institute of Science, attempting to recreate the things that Abby had written about in her book. Well, her and Erin's book. Erin wasn't talked about often, and when she was it was always negative. Apparently, during an interview of said book, Erin had bailed. Abby was very upset, as was expected when your best friend ditches you. They hadn't spoken since then. Holtzmann had avoided the subject since it made Abby so uncomfortable. Then Abby had put the book online.

"Do you think this is a good idea? You didn't even ask Eri-"

"I don't need her permission! She didn't ask if it was okay to just walk out of our friendship, so what makes this any different?" Holtz opened her mouth to argue, but decided she wasn't up for a fight.

She thought she knew Dr. Erin Gilbert well. Her theories were fascinating, and Holtz would find herself wrapped up in the book at odd hours of the night with a notebook and pencil in hand. After she was satisfied with her notes, she would attempt the inventing process. Abby was always positive towards her efforts, though avoided the topic of Erin herself.

"Maybe if we showed Erin that the majority of her theories were right." Holtz suggested casually. Abby scrunched her nose in disagreement.

"I know how passionate you are about her," Abby paused, looking for the right wording, "work, but I can guarantee that she doesn't give a rat's ass about this stuff anymore." She put a hand on Holtz's shoulder and gave her a sad smile.

* * *

Erin was at their door within the next week. She wore a blazer/skirt combo, along with the tiniest bow tie Holtzmann had ever seen. Her hair was down, and Holtz had to stop her eyes from wandering, this was the enemy after all.

"Can I offer you a chocolate milk?"

"I'm sorry, hello? Who are you?" Erin asked awkwardly, messing with the hem of her blazer.

Holtz smirked and removed her rubber gloves. "Holtzmann. Virgo, avid skier, gluten-full, and 100% jazzed to meet you." Erin cautiously shook her hand. God, her hand was soft.

"Don't get too close to her Holtzmann," Abby warned, pulling Holtz from her thoughts. "She'll ask you to write a book and then she'll squash your dreams." Erin looks down with guilt. "Holtzmann works with me in the lab. She is a brilliant engineer, and uh, very loyal. She would not abandoned you." Holtz throws an arm around her friend and grins.

"Okay, I get it." Erin snapped. Holtz could feel the tension in the room. "Listen, you have to take the book down. If anyone googles my name, that's the first thing to pop up, along with a ghost emoji." She said bitterly. "I'm up for tenure and I don't want anything to ruin my chances."

"Erin, if you don't believe in this stuff, then why'd you come looking for the book?"

"Some guy visited me today, at my work might I add," Abby rolled her eyes though Erin chose to ignore it. " saying that his building was haunted." Holtzmann's eyes widened and she looked to Abby.

"What building?" Abby asked.

"The Aldrich Mansion."

Abby's smile widened as she turned to Holtz. "Wanna go find some ghosts?"

"Yes!" Holtz replied. They initiated their handshake while Erin watched in distress.

"Wait, you're going?" She asked.

"I got the pack!" Holtz ran over to where her ghost equipment was and quickly gathered it up.

"Come on!" Abby gestured for Erin to follow.

"I'm not going with you guys." She stated. Abby pretended to be hurt.

"What? Oh my- You were never invited! I need you out of here so I can lock the door!"

Erin stared down at her shoes and said "Well you said let's."

Erin followed the two out of the building and pleaded with her former best friend.

"Alright, I'll maybe take the book down. Only if you introduce us to this Ed guy."

Erin perked up at that and nodded. "Yes! Yes of course!"

* * *

They had seen a ghost. And it had projected ecto all over Erin Gilbert. Both of which were awesome. But those two things had resulted in Erin getting fired. Not so awesome. Unknown to them, this would only be the beginning. After getting kicked out of Kenneth, the trio had set up shop above a chinese restaurant. Not the ideal place, but the smell of chinese food was a small, very small plus. And, of course, the robot of a man that waltzed into their lab.

"Hey, uh. I'm here about the receptionist job."

"Hi, hi." Erin whispered.

"Hi." The man replied back.

"Is this a big ol' robot?" Holtz asked as she took off her glasses in amusement. Erin gulped.

"What?"

"The uh, receptionist job that was in the paper I was here about." He said.

"You're hired!" Erin responded with a nervous laugh. The man seemed confused as Erin gulped again. Holtz just looked between the two with a grin on her face. Flustered Erin was amusing and cute. Thankfully Abby had interrupted them before Erin could embarrass herself even more.

"Hey I think I got it, oh god. You're all sweaty." She addressed to Erin, but her friend was too busy staring. "If there's something strange in the- Ow!" Erin pinched Abby's arm and pointed towards their guest. "Oh! You must be Kevin."

"Kevin…" The physicist murmured. Holtz tried to contain her laughter at the older women's expense.

"Abby." Abby shook Kevin's hand. "We spoke on the phone.."

"Kevin, oh." Erin said a little louder, getting the blond man's attention. "That's a manly name. My name's Erin. With an E, for everything you want."

"Okay, well we should probably start the interview. Erin?" She gestured towards

Her friend. "Do you want to join us?"

Erin didn't hesitate with her answer. "Yes. I have so many questions." She gladly followed, intrigued on how this interview would go.

* * *

For better or for worse, Kevin was hired, much to the joy of Erin. While he hadn't been the smartest, he at least knew how to breathe correctly. Holtz had actually enjoyed watching him figure out his new surroundings, while Erin was content just staring at him. Holtzmann enjoyed that too, watching Erin get flustered while Kevin stayed oblivious to her advances.

Another surprising distraction was Patty, the MTA worker who claimed to be chased by a ghost. Class IV to be exact. They all had gone to the scene of the incident, Holtzmann pushing their gear behind the rest.

"This is where I seen that weird sparkin thing." Patty stated.

"What was it?" Holtz asked.

"Baby, if I knew what it was, I wouldn't say that weird sparkin thing." She replied. Holtz cracked a smile.

"You're mouthy. I like that." The engineer replied. She had a feeling they would get along just fine.

The rest of their day ended with everyone getting some slime on them, but Erin had take most of the damage. She was covered from head to toe, and Holtzmann would be lying if she said she didn't find that even a little attractive.

"This is going to take hours to get out!" The physicist exclaimed once they returned to the lab. Abby and Holtz were studying the pieces that were found in the subway as Erin attempted to clean herself up. "What am I supposed to tell my dry cleaner?"

"That you got wrecked by a ghost," Holtzmann looked up from her work and smirked, and she swore Erin had blushed at the action, "and that it was awesome." Abby nodded in agreement. "Besides, ecto isn't that hard to get out. Here." She tossed Erin a bottle of her own concoction that she had whipped up after the first time Erin had been covered in the slime.

Erin looked at the murky liquid in the clear bottle and scrunched her nose. "What is it?"

"Ecto-cleaner. Patent still pending." Holtz added with a wink. "Just throw your ecto-induced clothes in the wash and add a bit of that magic and boom," She clapped her hands, "No more ecto." Erin looked from her to the bottle warily but nodded.

"Well, we'll see if this works." She turned to leave but Holtzmann let out an unruly yell, causing Erin to jump and almost drop the bottle. "Jeez, Holtz! What?"

"I almost forgot. DO NOT mix that with any detergent or fabric softener. It'll cause a chemical reaction and a medium to high range poof." The engineer explained carefully.

"A poof doesn't sound that bad." Erin mused. Holtz shook her head and mimicked an explosion. Erin frowned. "Thanks for the warning." She turned to leave and Holtz couldn't help herself.

"Any time, hot stuff." Holtz slipped out and she watched Erin freeze. Uh oh. The older women looked over her shoulder, face growing warm from the comment, and continued to the laundromat. Abby gave Holtz an amused look.

"Real smooth." She commented. Holtz smiled at her. "Now can we please focus on this junk?"

* * *

They had managed to stop Rowan. Well, he had killed himself and that was totally not on them, at least not in Holtzmann's book. It was a Sunday, and the team was lounging around the lab. Holtz had tied her jumpsuit top around her waist, revealing a black tank top.

"Oh, the paper!" She slid into the booth next to Erin and grabbed the Sunday paper.

"Alright, just read it to me." Erin grimaced. Holtz skimmed through the front page and gasped when she saw the headline. Erin's shoulders sunk.

"Basset hound attends matinees by himself. Amazing. Erin, look how cute he is!" Erin let out a frustrated sigh.

"No, I mean the article about me."

"Oh. Um." She read through said article and raised a brow. "I don't want you to read this. Ever." Erin hid her face in her hands. Holtz felt her chest grow heavy at the site and wanted to comfort her, but Patty had gotten their attention.

"Uh, Erin. You're on tv." They all turned toward the television and watched as Erin had punched the man who had ridiculed her. Angry tears fell as they kept replaying the scene. Holtz put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It was a great punch, I've gotta admit. Probably would've went for the right hook, but that's just me." She attempted, trying lighten the mood. Erin clenched her fists and walked away.

"I've gotta go."

"Erin, no." Abby protested, but to no avail. Erin strode out of the building without looking back. Holtz kept a neutral face, though Abby looked hurt.

"She just needs some space. She'll come back." Holtzmann assured. Abby shook her head.

"What if she doesn't?"

* * *

"You guys, this is exactly how I pictured my death." Holtzmann struggled to let out. Being smooshed between the road and a ghost balloon was actually not the worst way she could go. She was struggling to breathe when she heard a loud pop. Her ears started to ring and she felt the pressure on her back let up. She and the others staggered to their feet.

"Proton guns are well and good, but sometimes a lady needs her swiss army knife."

Holtzmann broke out in a grin. "You came back! Am I yelling?" Erin smiled.

"Yes." Abby patted Erin's arm and grinned. "Glad to have you back." Holtzmann rushed up and gave her a hug. She felt Erin stiffen at the contact, but she quickly relaxed and wrapped her arms around the shorter woman's neck. Holtzmann felt her heart stop, but not in a heart attack way.

"You ready to save the world?" Holtz asked, her voice muffled by Erin's neck. She pulled back, a wide grin on her face and her eyes lit up. The physicist nodded.

"Let's do this."


	2. Chapter 2

Jillian was snuggled up on the couch, casually throwing popcorn into her mouth while marathoning scary movies. She had been eyeing her digital watch every so often. Her dad was supposed to be home thirty minutes ago. It wasn't unusual for him to work late, so Jillian didn't worry.

An hour later her mom began pacing.

"Has your father called? Did he say he was going to be late?"

Jillian could hear the distress in her mother's voice. She was worried, but Jillian wanted to to scoff at her. "Mom, he's fine. He probably had a breakthrough or something." Another piece of popcorn was thrown into her mouth as she watched her mother rush to the phone.

"Did he say anything about staying late?" Her mom asked into the phone. "Jillian, turn the news on." Holtz did as she was told. What she saw made her heart stop.

"We just got an update. There has been four casualties and two injured. We'll keep you updated as information becomes available."

Holtzmann gaped at the television as her mom broke had been a crash on the road that Dad took to get to work. It looked like the collision caused an explosion. Black smoke filled the air, and Holtz forced herself to look away. Her mom was crying now, but she was quiet. Holtz felt her throat tighten.

"Dad was in the crash, wasn't he." It was more of a statement than a question. Jillian may only be seven, but she wasn't stupid. Her mom opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "It's okay, Mom." Holtz got up and tightly wrapped her arms around her mom. She felt arms wrap around her and wetness on her shoulder. They would be okay.

* * *

Abby and Erin had just went into a ghost portal. Holtz felt her world slow down as she watched Erin hook a rope to her jumpsuit. She looked at the portal and then back to Erin, who gave her a look of pure determination and took off after Abby. Holtz wanted to yell, scream at her to stop, but she couldn't find her voice. If she were Erin, she would do the same thing. She could feel tears forming in her eyes, but quickly wiped them away. She wouldn't cry over this, not until they came back. Because they will come back.

"Holtzy!" Patty yelled, "We gotta get them outta there!" Holtz snapped back to reality and hastily grabbed at the rope. They kept pulling, but the rope was so damn long. They weren't quick enough, and Holtz's arms were burning. She made a mental note to start working out if everything turned out well. "Almost there!" She heard Patty say, and soon enough she found herself knocked on her ass. She staggered to her feet, gasping at the sight before her.

"Shut. Up!" She ran over to her two friends, who now sported white hair. She tugged Erin to her feet and felt the older woman fall into her. She reeked of what Holtz could only assume death, but that didn't matter. She had Erin in a tight hug, not willing to let her go.

"We're here, Jill." Erin whispered into her ear as she held Holtzmann just as tight. "I'm here." She broke. The tears overwhelmed her at the sight of her colleague, her best friend, who had literally went to hell and back.

"Don't ever do that again without me." Holtz joked, though her voice wavered. "I don't want to miss out on all the fun."

She felt Erin nod into her shoulder and her world began again.

Thanks to the mayor and his generous funding, the ghostbusters set up shop in the firehouse, much to the delight of Kevin and Holtzmann.

"I'll have enough space to practice H&S!" Kevin had exclaimed.

"And I get the second floor all to myself!" Holtz joined in.

* * *

She did not get the second floor to herself. Erin and Abby decided that Erin would accompany Holtz upstairs, mostly so she could keep an eye on the engineer, while Abby and Patty set up on the first floor. The third floor would be converted to bedrooms for the team, seeing as it once housed firefighters. Holtz's room was small, but she didn't plan on spending much time there. A twin-sized bed sat against the wall, an X-Files comforter and matching pillow case sprawled across the mattress. Various posters covered the walls, mostly science related. She was tinkering with her patent-pending proton shotgun when she heard a knock.

"It's open!"

Erin popped her head in and gestured to Holtz. "We got some take out, and I know you haven't eaten since yesterday so come on." Holtzmann held up the shotgun as an excuse. "Nope. You need a break." Erin gently took the shotgun and tugged Holtz to her feet. Holtz mumbled objections but allowed herself to be led down to the kitchen. Patty and Abby were already eating, but thankfully Erin had saved her some. When she and Erin sat down, she noticed Patty had been crying.

"Whoa, Pattycakes. What's wrong?" Patty sniffed, holding up a book. Holtz hummed.

"A Dog's Purpose." Erin read aloud. Holtz knew that the book had to be sad if it involved any kind of animal. Abby handed Patty a full tissue box, giving their friend a sad look.

"It's so sad, man. It's not even the deaths, but the stuff he goes through-"

"There's more than one death?" Holtz interrupted. Patty nodded solemnly. Holtzmann gasped, clutching her heart in agony. "I have to read it. Let me know when you're done with it."

"Oh, you'll be able to tell when I'm done."

"I think I know what'll cheer you up." Abby announced. "I'll start up Netflix."

They all moved into the living room, or the room that had a tv, a couch, and a few arm chairs. Holtzmann sprawled out on the couch as Patty and Abby took the chairs. Erin quickly poked at Holtz's leg and crossed her arms.

"Move over."

Holtz sighed obnoxiously, acting as if moving was taking all of her energy. Erin playful rolled her eyes as she sat herself next to the engineer.

"Alright, I think it's a scary movie kinda night. Patty, you've had a rough day, so you can pick." Abby tossed the remote to Patty.

"Are we lookin' for the movies that are so bad they funny, or actual scary?"

"First one." Holtz said. It had been awhile since she had watched scary movies. They brought back too many bad memories. She heard Abby muttered a curse as she too realized her mistake.

"Holtz, we can watch some-"

"It's okay, Abby." She felt Erin's arm slip through hers, eyes trained on the television as Patty scrolled. It felt different, better, like this. Surrounded by people who understood and appreciated her. She felt at ease.


End file.
